Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what is happening in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has convened a Tuesday cabinet meeting to discuss trade talks with the United States.
Carney’s office also announced he will meet with the premiers on July 22 at their meeting in Huntsville, Ont., to discuss the negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 35-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods starting Aug.1. But Adrian Morrow reports that the new tariffs would most likely only apply to goods traded outside the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement currently tariffed at 25 per cent.
Today, Trump said Canada had called him but offered no details.
Carney and Trump agreed at last month’s G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., to negotiate an economic and security deal within 30 days, a deadline later set as July 21. That deadline is now Aug. 1.
“Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses,” Carney said in a statement.
“We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”
Meanwhile, the New Democratic Party has announced the election of a new leader next March.
The party lost 17 seats, official party status and leader Jagmeet Singh in the last election. Singh was defeated in his B.C. riding and announced his departure on election night. The current NDP caucus consists of seven MPs.
Emily Haws reports that the leadership race is set to officially begin in September and the leader will be chosen no later than March 29, 2026, with the results announced that day at the party’s convention in Winnipeg.
The entry fee for the race will be $100,000.
Also this week, the NDP has recruited an Ottawa lawyer and former candidate to review the party’s handling of the spring federal election and to canvas party members for their views on renewing the party.
Emilie Taman, the facilitator of the review, said Tuesday she is mindful of the urgency but is intent on doing a proper review ahead of finalizing her report by the end of the year.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured in May after a cabinet meeting, will convene his ministers on Tuesday to discuss trade talks with the Trump administration.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
Canadian unemployment rate drops to 6.9 per cent: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for June showed that the economy added more than 83,000 jobs last month, with 70,000 of those positions concentrated in part-time work.
Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet becomes first woman to lead air force: Speiser-Blanchet, who has served as a Griffon helicopter pilot and in various command roles, took the reins from Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny at a change-of-command ceremony at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
Extremism not a problem unique to Canadian military, Defence Minister says: David McGuinty was making his first comments since active members of the military were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged plot to create an extremist militia.
Nunavut Premier leaving politics: The territory is going to need a new premier because P.J. Akeeagok says he’s leaving politics to spend more time with his family, not for another political position.
No evidence of political motivation in explosion at B.C. minister’s office, police say: “There’s just not information to point to that direction,” RCMP Corporal Mansoor Sahak told a news conference this week regarding the investigation of the incident at the North Vancouver constituency office of Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s Infrastructure Minister.
Coal, Parliament Hill’s last feline and ‘symbol of compassion,’ dies at age 17: Coal was a part of the cat colony on Parliament Hill, but when the colony closed in 2013, he went to live with public servant Danny Taurozzi. He died peacefully Tuesday, on a cozy sofa.
Vancouver Lapu-Lapu attack inquiry urges B.C. mandate risk assessments for all public events: The government says it has accepted “the intent” of all recommendations from the commission led by former B.C. Supreme Court chief justice Christopher Hinkson but did not provide a timeline for implementation.
Commons transport committee to look at federal support for BC Ferries’ purchase of Chinese-made vessels: The committee will be calling two federal cabinet ministers and the chief executive of the Canada Infrastructure Bank to explain why BC Ferries’ decision to buy four new vessels from China was supported by a $1-billion federal loan.
On our radar
Ministers on the road: Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne was in Rome today as part of a visit that has included attending the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference and talks with the Italian government. On Saturday, Champagne is to meet with Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states.
Quote of the week: “I kept running into ministers. I feel like we’re getting love bombed right now.” - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, at a news conference this week, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet showing up at the Calgary Stampede.
MPs in the summer: As part of this weekly summer edition of the newsletter, we will be checking in with MPs on what they are up to while the Commons is on a break. This week it’s Scott Aitchison, former mayor of the Ontario town of Huntsville, about 200 kilometres north of Toronto in the Muskoka region – cottage country. Aitchison has been the Conservative MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2019.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about my region, particularly the Muskoka side. People see it as a playground for the rich and famous, which it most decidedly is. But for the year-round permanent population of our region, it’s a very different picture. Median incomes are about 20 per cent below the provincial average. The housing situation here has been in crisis for a long time. People work in multiple, seasonal or tourism-related jobs at a time, and they just don’t make a lot of money. Food insecurity is kind of off the charts.
“When I was mayor, I did a charity golf tournament. And after COVID was over, I started doing the same thing again as the MP. But this year, we’ve decided to step it up a little bit and established the Parry Sound-Muskoka Community Fund through an organization called the Muskoka Community Foundation, sort of to be our version of the United Way.
“We’re going to create an endowment for the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka so that there’s always support for them to make sure that they could be lifted out of difficult times. There are multiple organizations all across the region that provide food, that run programs for children and underprivileged youth, that make sure they can participate in activities and events. This fund would be able to support all of those organizations
“So I’m excited about establishing something like this. And, honestly, it’s what I am really focused on most right now in the riding for the summer. Without being here on the ground, it’s tough to do this kind of stuff. We’re working hard with a number of people to establish this and endow it with a lot of money so that it lasts long after I am gone.
“We’re reaching out to a lot of different folks, whether in the business community here in Parry Sound-Muskoka, a lot of contacts in the GTA as well. There’s a lot of people who have seasonal places around the lake that we’re connecting with as well to get some assistance from them. I’ve run lots of golf tournaments, but never established an endowment like this.”
Question period
Who was the first prime minister to use the country residence available to prime ministers?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
New leader, or new system? The Conservatives ponder life under two-party politics
If, on the other hand, the NDP’s condition is terminal – if we have entered, as some claim, a new age of “two-party politics” (leaving all those who voted for the Bloc, the Greens and the People’s Party to one side) – then the Conservative predicament is even more stark. Not only would there be little likelihood of winning a majority, without the NDP to split the vote, but it’s hard to see how they could even form a minority government.
— Andrew Coyne, Columnist
As the NDP faces financial crisis, radical flamethrowers play with matches
The emergence of Reclaim Canada’s NDP is not the only sign the party is headed for a brutal leadership race. In a leaked e-mail announcing her June 23 resignation from the party’s federal council, Quebec representative Samah Khandker complained: “Equity-seeking members – particularly women, people with disabilities, and those who are Indigenous, queer, or racialized – are routinely asked to show up, but not to speak up.”
— Konrad Yakabuski, Columnist
The police will be there immediately – in more than two hours.
We cannot fault individuals for feeling as though the onus is on them to protect themselves. But we can try can to tackle the reasons why they feel that way in the first place.
— Robyn Urback, Columnist
Go deeper
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Take a look at the history of immigration reporting and great political scandals from A Nation’s Paper, a book about The Globe and Mail’s role in Canadian history
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The answer to today’s question: John Diefenbaker was the first prime minister to try out Harrington Lake after it was designated for the use of the prime minister in the late 1950s. Diefenbaker was prime minister from 1957 to 1963. The property managed by the National Capital Commission is about 35 kilometres north of Ottawa in Quebec, specifically Gatineau Park. The 5.4-hectare property has two key buildings: a 16-room cottage and a farmhouse.